Alex Ovechkin hopes the third time is the charm in the pursuit of his 900th career NHL goal.
Ovechkin moved within one of a pair of milestones after collecting a goal and an assist on Oct. 24 at Columbus. The three-time Hart Trophy recipient has been held off the scoresheet in consecutive contests heading into the Washington Capitals’ home game against the New York Islanders on Friday.
Ovechkin has famously tormented the Islanders for years, recording 71 points (45 goals, 26 assists) in 74 career encounters. He notched an assist in the Capitals’ 4-2 road victory over the Islanders on Oct. 11.
In addition to his 900th goal overall, Ovechkin is aiming for goal No. 127 in October on Friday. If he achieves it, he would break a tie with Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky for the most career goals in October in NHL history.
Ovechkin and company failed to solve the Stars’ Jake Oettinger on Tuesday, when Washington dropped its second straight decision with a 1-0 setback at Dallas.
“I think a lot of what we did out there for majority of the game, especially the second and third period, I thought we did a lot of good things,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “(We) controlled play, had majority of the looks, just didn’t convert on them (on Tuesday). So, you can’t be upset or disappointed with the process. The process was good. We just weren’t able to finish.”
Washington didn’t have that problem in its previous encounter against the Islanders, with Aliaksei Protas recording two goals and an assist and Logan Thompson making 34 saves earlier this month.
Capitals forward Dylan Strome and defenseman Rasmus Sandin, who were held off the scoresheet in that game, might return to action after practicing on Friday. Strome sustained a lower-body injury in the Capitals’ 7-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, while Sandin has been out for three games due to an upper-body injury.
“It was a good step, and I’ll talk to (head athletic trainer Jason Serbus) and we’ll see where they’re at for the weekend,” Carbery said of Strome and Sandin.
New York finds itself mired in its second three-game losing streak of the young season after falling 6-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday in Raleigh, N.C.
Islanders rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer scored his third goal of the season on Thursday. The top overall pick of the 2025 draft, Schaefer netted his first career goal in the previous encounter vs. Washington.
Simon Holmstrom scored his third goal in four games on Thursday for the Islanders, who played without Mathew Barzal. The latter was a healthy scratch due to disciplinary reasons after he was late to the morning skate at the rink.
“That’s the culture of our team. We made the decision to not play him (on Thursday),” coach Patrick Roy said. “Barzy doesn’t feel good about it, but you respect the decision. He understands it. He was really good about it.”
Barzal will be back in action on Friday, according to Roy.
